[Mailman-Users] Large lists and Postfix

[bruce at hams.com]

From: Dave Sill <ds-list-mailman at sws5.ctd.ornl.gov>
> I'm a long-time majordomo user who's evaluating alternatives including 
> ezmlm, mailman, and listar. I'd appreciate an explanation of how
> mailman is better at reducing the list manager's overhead than ezmlm.

Simply because the web interface is excellent, and it allows the user
to do most of their own management easily, and the confirmation system
avoids problems with malicious subscription. Users don't in general
want to bother the manager if they can solve their own problem with a
button click. Yes, I know other list servers have these features as
optional packages, but in Mailman they are well-integrated.

Mailman seems to have the best features.  I really like the way that
Mailman figures out what host URL it's being called from and presents the
appropriate list choices for that URL. I have the same mailman instance
running on several virtual web sites, and it does not display the lists
of one virtual site when called with another virtual site's host name.

Ezmlm is too minimal. I don't know about listar. Majordomo and SmartList
are fine, but their source code is more difficult for team-development
becuase of their language choices. Mailman's development is superscedeing
these other programs because of that.

> Actually, it's called "VERP" (Variable Envelope Return Path), not
> "percent hack". The "percenthack" qmail configuration variable turns
> on user%host at relay style relaying. But your explanation is, otherwise,
> accurate.

I missed this usage when I was working on qmail, or it didn't exist then.
I stand corrected.

> You really need VERP support in the MTA, otherwise you'll have to
> inject a copy of each message to each recipient. Right now, qmail is
> the only MTA I've aware of that does VERP. Venema wants to add it as
> an option to Postfix, though.

Right. What Mailman needs is a way to pass in the VERP from a bounce in
an MDA-independent fashion. Something like "~mailman/mail/wrapper bounce
<address>", where address is the decoded VERP. Given that, one could use
a front-end script like my qmail-to-mailman.py to handle the MDA-dependent
portion.

	Thanks

	Bruce